A Superior Day (2022)

Eww! What is this?

This will be a short one.
You don't have to watch this drama, I mean it's always wise not to waste time. Not bcs it's not even slightly average, it's one of the worst that's ever been produced. I am describing the reasons throughout (without spoilers ofc), though only those who have watched will be able relate. But for several reasons, if you haven't started, drop this off, for it's not even worth.

Produced by IWill Media and created by Studio Dragon, "A Superior Day (우월한 하루) [2022]" is an OCN original drama (though it didn't feel like one at all). Written by Lee Ji Hyun and directed by Jo Nam Hyung, the show is a live-action adaptation of the popular webtoon of the same title, authored by Team Getname that include Kim Carnby (Sweet Home) and Aurani (Meloholic).

The story follows Lee Ho Chul (Jin Goo), a responsible fire fighter, who lives with his small family of wife and a daughter. One day his daughter gets kidnapped and soon follows the order from a stranger who wants Ho Chul to investigate and find out out the culprit of a serial killer. The chase leads him to unforeseen situations where he finds himself and his family entangled between the stranger and the culprit.

Detective Choi Jung Hye (Im Hwa Young) plays Ho Chul's wife while Lee Soo A (Cho Yu Ha) is their daughter. Ha Do Kwon plays Bae Tae Jin, an ex-convict whereas Kwon Shi Woo (Lee Wo Keun) is the family's next door neighbour. Some other familiar faces in the show are: Park Min Jung, Song Young Kyu, Na Chul and Lee Seo Joon.

I don't wanna talk about the plot development, for its of no use, but let me bcs everybody needs to know. This could have been a decent chase thriller but the plotline given, however, the screenplay writing was choppy and not up to scratch. It's so bad I can't even cite it as an average show. The introduction didn't create any firm impression but by the end of the 2nd episode, I was looking forward, but then, came the 3rd episode. It suddenly became off, which I took, as momentary inconsistency. However, it never improved further. The kidnapping and taking hostage stuff was so funny lmao, it felt like two table tennis players were tossing the ball against their opponents (I will start crying). It gets extremely frustrating by the 5th episode and then everything just feels duh. I finished it just for the sake of having a closure, ngl, I can't leave anything unfinished, even so I have to watch them at 3x. For this, I watched the 2nd half (5th-8th) at 2x and finished them in one go.

I have always emphasized that it's not always an easy task to turn a book/webtoon into live-action adaptation and it's been many debutants doing an amazing job has been evidenced. However, Kim Ji Hyun jakkanim failed to do so, quite miserably. There are more than dozen of flaws which are unarguably too many for a 8 episode show. The responses to the drama should be a lesson to them for bettering themselves.

Director Jo Nam Hyung PDnim, as well, needs to work more on his skills. The direction was shoddy and substandard for most of the parts. There seemed no space for improvement, nor the efforts to fix what was already been ruined in the initial demo.

What I liked...
There is not a single that that's likeable, so this is it.

What I didn't like...

# The biggest turn off about the show is it's plot development. What didn't feel any impressive in the pilot episode, does pick up interest in the next, but again, it immediately goes downhill midway through the ep 3, and there is no going back; it keeps getting worse worse with each further episode.

# A firefighter, a serial killer, a contract killer, police investigation, full-time chase: all these that might excite you, are elements often seen Kdramas, nevertheless, proper utilisation is what matters, which the show could not do at all.

# The reasoning and the deals made on it were laughable and stupid. The number of times people change their sides makes it nothing less than a dumpping bin.

# There is very little context to the story, telling which, the show should have been a decent 2 hours movie, provided how it turned crap just after 2 episodes. All that they do for the rest of the show is unasked exaggeration and uncontrollable dragging of the tiny plotline.

# The latter half is miserable as a story; the number of times they repeat 2 or 3 events indeed frustrates the viewers and the show ultimately feels useless.

# The acting was bad per se. Obviously, there are actors who are hugely talented, but what nourishes and shapes the acting they do for a particular character, is the direction and the understanding for the roled they are gonna play. I feel it's hugely the direction and editing that reflects in the under-standard acting of the actors. Jingoo has disappointed, and so has Lee Woo Keun (he couldn't play a proper...... not spoiling).

# The police investigation was as useless as a ruptured protection. I mean why make it a part of the show when there was zero significance. I admit, not all show has to have extensive investigation and stuffs but the cops over here were committing absurd deeds and have been portrayed as completely incapable. The team leader, the chief detective & the partner and the new detective aka Jung Hye who was expected to play a major role as thd ML's wife, all of them had zero contribution to the show.

# Why would they indicate another season at the end of the finale? I guess the webtoon has more but provided that this one is awful, another season should be avoided at any cost.

# Lastly, this doesn't even qualify as a chase thriller. I would rather sit at one place than running around idly, like the ML does here.

Final Remarks... Overally, A Superior Day is one of the worst Korean shows ever made with not a single factor to look forward to. So don't watch. Okay bye.

P. S. Was so frustrated after finishing, ended up writing it in 10 mins -_-

Read More

This series should have never been created

I intended to write a typical review with the aspects of the drama that I enjoyed and the parts I disliked, but then I realised that there was not even one positive thing I could say about this series, not even one. If you enjoyed this drama, please don't read further.

This is probably one of the worst series I have watched in my life and in the thriller-mystery genre it may actually be the worst.

I will get straight to the point which is the plot. Imagine a chessboard where the players can move their pawns however they like, without considering the rules. That’s how this series is like. The writer uses the characters, which are equally badly written, however she likes without taking into consideration that there is something called logic. The genre of this series does not allow plot holes. It is not a drama where a pigeon and his friends can appear to save the day and you are fine with it, because the genre allows it. They are not even the types of plot holes that you can dismiss, because you are having a good time.

We all have watched kdramas where the police officers are portrayed as idiots and they don’t use their brain to think. Well, comparing to the characters in this series where everyone acts like they have only one brain cell left, those police officers should have won some medals for their exemplary behaviour.

The actors were mediocre, but to tell the truth, I am not sure if it is because they are not good actors or it’s because their characters were so badly written that they couldn’t do anything better than that. Even the OST has nothing to offer and it was one of the few times that the music felt so out of place.

This may have sounded a bit offensive, but since I felt like this series insulted my intelligence, I couldn’t write what I felt in a more positive way.

Do yourself a favour and forget about the existence of this series, because it shouldn’t have been made to begin with.

Read More

Been a while since I've seen Jin Goo in dramas so it's a delight to see him in a new project. I haven't been watching anything with Jin Goo since Descendant of the Sun, so I might as well do it now.

The plot had the feel of Die Hard and 24 with a bit of a serial killer vibe on the side so I thought that this drama would be quite a thrill. Sadly though, the more I'm following each episode the more I feel that the drama was quite a letdown. Casting-wise I do still think that they were doing a good job within the scope of the drama though I have to say that I'm not quite impressed with the writing. In a way, the format of the drama being aired one episode per week may have an effect in lessening the suspense felt after each episode but the writing also did nothing much to improve the whole experience. I doubt even if one was to wait and marathon the episode at one go that it'd make any difference since the writing was THAT ridiculous. I feel sad for the cast since they do appear to be doing their best to act in this drama yet the writer just wasted their potential. I mean, you got Jin Goo and Ha Dokwon in this drama amongst others, but why did you make them be part of this shitshow?

It really felt as if the whole plot was written to be overly complicated unnecessarily just so that drama can have many ridiculous things happen within one whole day. But unfortunately, this was not the case for the drama. Arguably, some of the twists may be quite brilliant if executed properly. A lot of the time, many of the key scenes were poorly timed and choppily edited. And the whole 'superior' thing only really starts to crop up near the end as if the writer just remembered the title of the drama. I mean, as much as Penthouse's plot was ridiculous, it was at least fun compared to this brain-stunting drama.

Honestly, I'm just watching the drama because of Jin Goo and Ha Dokwon and also because I might as well finish watching the show till the end since I already reached the end. Unless you don't mind feeling frustrated for the entire duration of the drama, you may need to think twice about watching this drama. Unless your faves are in here... maybe.

Read More

If you love bleak and disturbing storylines, you're in luck

A Superior Day is the drama adaptation of an identically titled popular webtoon. The key word here is adaptation, as the drama is really its own take on the webtoon’s base concept. The similarities are mostly in the name, alongside some repurposed scenes and ideas. For the most part the reimagined narrative is actually a very creative and interesting progression from the original, translating over to the screen effectively while retaining the gruesome spirit of the webtoon and adding some welcome depth.

This drama has a rather interesting structure due to its 8-episode length and the fact that it takes place over a 24-hour period. As a result, the pacing is unrelenting but to its credit the show does ultimately know when to give the viewer a little breathing room, which is especially important because of how very bleak and stifling its atmosphere is. From its first moments the drama quickly establishes itself as a macabre high-tension thriller and works hard to reinforce that label. Interestingly enough, rather than employing the classic technique of cutting away from violence it really doubles down on it and never shies away from its notably dark themes.

The significantly character-driven storytelling revolves mostly around following the perspectives of our 3 main characters – family-oriented firefighter Lee Ho-Cheol (Jin Goo), serial killer Kwon Si-Woo (Lee Won-Geun) plus professional hitman Bae Tae-Jin (Ha Do-Kwon) – and seeing how their fates eventually coincide. In that vein, one of the biggest assets of this drama is the incredible acting talent of the main cast which is further strengthened by their immense and apparent chemistry. While there are many standout performers present, the one I particularly want to highlight is Lee Won-Geun. Psychopath characters are notoriously difficult to pull off as it is far too easy for a portrayal to become shallow and devolve into disengaging, over-the-top cheesiness. Despite that, Lee Won-Geun consistently avoids these pitfalls and delivers a chilling and complex performance that expertly conveys the disturbed psyche and innermost beliefs of his character. Honestly, I would recommend this drama even just based on the quality of his acting alone.

Another aspect of this show that really sets it apart is the effective combination of its imagery and soundtrack. The haunting creative design of many props and sets takes centre stage in communicating the drama’s morbid tone and leaves a deep and unforgettable impression, so much so that I still have several scenes seared into my memory. The soundtrack gives a predictably slasher-esque feeling yet still manages to be rather memorable with the occasional use of some interesting instruments and motifs. Those two things play off each other well and elevate the tension exceptionally.

Admittedly, this drama has its flaws which will vary in significance to a viewer depending on preference. As is common with many thrillers, it certainly requires a little suspension of disbelief in a few parts where things are made slightly vague or coincidental to keep the story flowing. At times, I was surprised by which setups paid off and which didn’t. Moreover, due to the situation our characters find themselves in they sometimes make some decidedly naïve decisions. One could make the argument that this simply reflects their desperate circumstances on top of their personal values, and I would agree with this for many but not all cases. Lastly, this is not a casual viewing kind of drama. To fully understand the characters and thus the events of the story paying attention to the details and giving them some thought is quite important. This is not a flaw in itself, but it can be a plus for some viewers and an inconvenience for others.

TLDR AKA the final verdict: As someone who often spends my time sighing at thrillers because they tend to be so predictable, I was very taken with the fact that I couldn’t even begin to imagine a lot of the twists and turns the story took. This drama is thoughtful in its execution, answering the majority of questions that could possibly arise and making sure that almost every scene has purpose. In addition, the message it delivers ends up being surprisingly poignant and left me with many thoughts. It really brings something unique to the K-Drama scene and certainly stands out, in part due to its considerable shock value. Because of that, however, if you’re very sensitive to violence and disturbing themes in general I would probably give it a miss. Otherwise, I thoroughly recommend this drama for its stellar cast, compelling imagery and highly immersive thrills.

Read More

It's 4 episodes if you skip all the walking.

This show left me in a state of complete confusion. What happened? How did it happen? Who approved it? At some point I was 5 episodes in and I could not comprehend how there are 3 episodes left. How dumb will they make the characters to fill that screen time?

I’m not kidding when I say nothing made sense. The investigation was laughable - the worst I have ever seen in any drama. The killer was just mediocre and was able to kill for so long only because everyone else was so imcompetant The male lead… I don’t even want to talk about him. Each and every choice he made was making me question my sanity. Not to mention Bae Tae Jin who was there to add “spice” to the typical story, but failed to do so.

I am honestly impressed by how bad this show was. It can fool you during the first 2 episodes - they are generic, but not tragic. How fast it changes though. The longer you watch, the dumber it gets. Protect your brain, don’t watch it. And if you like to suffer like me, at least don’t binge watch it. Your brain could fry.

The characters don’t even share one brain cell. There are no brain cells being used by anyone in this show. Zero brain cells. Negative brain cells energy. Basically a black hole for brain cells.

Sure, the acting was goodish, the production itself was not bad. But no amount of technical aspects being done well can save this project.

Overall, why does it exist?

Read More

Waste of time

The first couple episodes were quite interesting. However, too many stupid plot devices were used to keep me remotely interested. The absolute dumbest plot device was Lee Ho Chul finds daughter he doesn’t try to leave as soon as possible. But nooo, we had to wait for the killers to show up.

One complaint was how the police chief was made to look so dense. He never listened to his lieutenant. Detectives Choo and Choi seemed to be the only ones trying to connect the dots. Unfortunately it took the attempted killing of Detective Choi to make them realize that Lee Ho Chul was not the killer.

I also didn’t understand why Lee Ho Chul thought he could handle it by himself when his wife was a detective.

Anyway like I said I kept watching because I was hoping after it went off the rails it would get back on track. . I should’ve known after the two bad guys kept swapping the daughter that it wasn’t going to get better.

Sadly it had so much potential.

Read More

the psychopath!

the story is so fun, eventho its little bit slow, but if you watch from episode 1 to episode 6, its so amazing tho, you guys better watch this, and give a full rating okay!? the fun is, its just only have 8 episode. cant wait to watch episode 7 tomorrow. the psychopath's smile are so scary and at the same time are so cute. also, lee won geun acting are so amazing, the way he acted as a psychopath, and in disguise being a innocent person at the apartment, ughhh he is so amazing, why people still cant see his acting and his visual? lee won geun just a *Chef kiss* he is so amazing and precious, you guys better watch it yeah! the storyline is kinda slow, but when you watch episode 6 its really really awesome! WATCH IT NOW. tq

Read More

A Scummy Day

Disappointing and underwhelming with its lackluster execution and uninspired storytelling. Insufferable and bland thriller/mystery mix that doesn't attempt to put the slightest of efforts. Pretty straightforward and linear story, everything is laid down lazily. Bad dialogue all around that was probably machine generated. Abysmal pacing by amateur director, big chunks of every episodes were silent while the characters roaming very slowly with an awful royalty free background music. The cast performance was suffering as well, maybe the ML was passable but the remainder of the cast were barely average and the main villain was just bad and cringe. On the bright side, at least they didn't push it for an agonizing 16 episodes so that's a win?

Read More

Rewatch Value 0/10.

*Spoilers* I guess, though who cares about that garbage?

A Superior Day is beyond horrible, an entire nuclear disaster. Every aspect is just bad. The writing, the cinematography, the characters, the directing, and even the acting although people like Jin Goo and Ha Do Gwon where in it. It's boring, it's stupid, everyone was so incompetent although the story claimed they were threatening it was absurd.

I still have trauma from that raging pile of shitty stupidity whenever I'm reminded of it. And do you know? The main character was once a fireman. It's only repeated 10 times every episode. And the grand conclusion of this to this never ending mantra? The final "fight"(read: nothingburger) where the main character washes away the painting of the "Big Bad"(read: completely incompetent, stupid and untreatening) while he watches because he is already incapacitated (due to his own actions, not due to any of the good guys actions) with a fucking firehose. Wow. Such twist. Much awesome ?

Here are the only Good Things about it:

- with 8 episodes it's rather short in comparison to 16 or 20 episodes
- they were able to draw out material for a 2 hour movie into an 8 hour show. That's a skill I guess???
- you don't have to remember names, their only aspect (eg. father, daughter, killer....) is enough to know everything about the characters
- very surprising, because the stupidity of the characters is breath-taking
- good training, for you if you have children that will act in a school play. To finish the show you have to learn to sit through some interesting acting

TL;DR: A Superior Day is straight up garbage and shouldn't exist.

Read More

Not Good Enough

Korean Drama " A Superior Day" was too boring for a thriller.

Right from the start, the story gets predictable, with frustrating situations, especially since the viewer can easily figure out what was happening when the characters just played it ignorant. And even though there was some suspense at first, things started being repeated, particularly the twists. The gore, moreover, was sometimes unnecessary and only there to provoke.

On the other hand, the performances were nice and enjoyable, primarily from the main leads.

So, overall, 3 out of 10.

Read More

Not a perfect drama, but certainly a very innovative one.

Not a perfect drama, but certainly a very innovative one. I'm saying again what I'd in previous episode that people need to understand that the story of this drama is set across the events taking place in the span of 24 hours and not multiple days.
Considering this drama was set across 24 hours, it's believable that why police weren't able to apprehend Si-woo.

The basic plot is that a serial killer kidnaps the daughter of Lee Ho-cheol. This killer has been living in plain sight as Ho-cheol's neighbour. What follows next is the cat and mouse chase between Ho-cheol, Kwon Si-woo (serial killer), Bae Tae-jin (assassin) and the cops.
Ho-cheol racing against the time to save his daughter from being getting killed by Si-woo.

Personally, I liked the idea of this story. It was like 24, US drama.
Yes, the execution wasn't perfect, but it wasn't that bad either. The story could've been stronger.
But what I think the biggest drawback is that there were only episodes per week. This kind of acted as "continuity-breaker"
People couldn't stay connected with the story because of the duration.
If people would binge-watch it in a go, the story would make much more sense.

The ending kind of open-ended. Most of the things were ended perfectly, but I still think there is a chance of a sequel.

Overall, the weakest drama from OCN in a long time. Nevertheless, a nice drama and full points for the experiment.
The direction was weak, as was the story, but the acting was spot-on. Lee won-keun literally gave me chills with his performance. He was very good as a serial killer. His chilly smile would send shivers down one's spine.
Nice comeback for Jin-goo after disastrous Legal High.
Ha Do-kwon nails most of his roles, and here also he was perfect.
What I rue about is that there wasn't much to do for Lim Hwa-young. She was good as a cop, but some scenes should've been added showing the mother-daughter bond, particularly at the end.

A nice 8.0/10 from me.

Read More